The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Utility vehicles, such as maintenance vehicles, cargo vehicles, shuttle vehicles, and golf cars can experience vehicle roll-back events during idle periods while positioned on a hill. More specifically, if the utility vehicle is idling on a surface that has a sufficient grade, the utility vehicle can be induced to roll backward once an accelerator pedal is depressed and a parking brake is released. Rather than providing a smooth start forward, there can be an initial backward movement down the hill.
Typically, in an electric utility vehicle this occurs when the motor current is not sufficient to maintain the position of the vehicle when the parking brake is released. In some cases, the limited motor current results from limited dynamic braking capability at low speeds. In other cases, the limited motor current results from a time delay for a pulse width modulated signal to build up from zero to a point that dynamic braking can occur.